Problems after bilateral mastectomy

dh49
dh49 Member Posts: 1
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I am bilateral with radical on the right side. I am having a lot of pain problems. I am right handed. Even my shoulder blade in the back is lower. It has been almost 4yrs. since the surgery. I need to know if anyone else is having trouble with pain. Its not just the arm pit. No one told me this could happen.

Comments

  • warrendale
    warrendale Member Posts: 1
    I too had a bilateral with radical on the right and prophylactic on the left. I went through 6 months of chemo and then within 2 weeks of radiation I developed upper right back pain. It's been a year since I developed it and it's still there. It feels like a pinched nerve. I've been told it was due to the positioning during radiation, or scar tissue or the fact that I now carry everything on my left and I might be not standing as straight. No one seems to really know why. I've had several bone scans and x-rays and they are all clear, thankfully. I think all you can do is gentle exercises to strengthen your back (yoga). There are also herbal painkillers that work well too. Hope that helps.
  • 23nodes
    23nodes Member Posts: 3
    I had a modified radical on my left and a simple mastectomy on my right. I am right handed. I have difficulty with becoming sore, especially if I do a lot of lifting, especially anything over 10-15 lbs. I also have pain at the top of my shoulders at the end of the day. I did not opt for reconstruction, so I also at times have pains across my chest. With 23 lymph nodes removed from under my left side, I consider myself fortunate to not have had swelling in my arms. It has been two years since my surgery. I just tolerate the pain, or consider it a signal of my new limit and go lay down to rest.